What did Banner Elk, North Carolina, look like in the 1890s? With the vision of a young seminary student, one tiny town gained a church, a college, an orphanage, and a hospital.”
The story of Edgar Tufts is compelling and heartwarming. Set to music by John Thomas Oaks and Tommy Oaks, and written by Janet Barton Speer (the team who brought you The Denim King: The Moses Cone Story), this work is presented after thoughtful research among the families who have lived here for generations. Using traditional mountain music mixed with a lyrical style, audiences will be moved and inspired by this great man. You will not want to miss From the Mountaintop: The Edgar Tufts Story. Written by Janet Barton Speer | Music and Lyrics by John Thomas Oaks and Tommy Oaks
Show Times:
Thursday, July 11 at 7 p.m.
Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 13 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, July 16 at 2 and 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 17 at 2 p.m.
A journey of a retired Girl Raised in the Southern mountains
who sometimes snorts when she laughs
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem
Man of La Mancha Cast
Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ seventeenth-century masterpiece Don Quixote, this winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, has proven to be one of the most enduring works in musical theatre history. With a celebrated score that includes “The Impossible Dream” and “Dulcinea,” this powerful and endearing story celebrates the perseverance of a dying old man who refuses to relinquish his ideals or his passion.
CAST:
Miguel De Cervantes/Don Quixote/Alonso Quijana – Chuck King
Sancho Panza – Ken Ashford
Aldonza/Dulcinea – Christine Gorelick
Governor/Innkeeper – Ken Rogers
Duke/Dr. Sanson Carrasco/Knight of the Mirrors – Trevor Ketterling
Antonia – Sarah Jenkins
Housekeeper – Deborah Koerner
Padre – Jonathan Howie
Barber – Rodney Allen
Pedro – Michael Hoch
Anselmo – Dave Wills
Muleteer: David Nichols
Cantor/Tenorio – Troy Hurst
Maria – Rebecca Perello
Fermina – Chantel Bryant
Gypsy Girl – Amanda Hicks
Prisoner – Angela Hodges
Captain of the Inquisition – Will Wright
Friday, January 4, 2019
Old Barn and Garden in the Snow
What a wonderful view of the old barn and garden in the snow at my home in Banner Elk taken by Sallie J. Woodring of Sallie J. Woodring Photography.
"This old barn is located on the Beech Mtn. parkway just outside of Banner Elk NC. It is one of those spots I love in all seasons and a couple of weeks ago it was magnificent..." Sallie J. Woodring Photography
Thursday, December 20, 2018
A Special Christmas Card
Each year my cousin, Artwork by Sarah Hoyle, sends a Christmas card from
her original painting. I love this year’s Christmas card with her special greeting: “Warm wishes for a Christmas Season filled with Love, Joy. and
Peace.”
Monday, October 29, 2018
Little Theatre’s ‘Young Frankenstein’ adds song and dance to classic comedy By Bill Cissna Special Correspondent Oct 27, 2018
In terms of movies and comedies in general, 1974 was something of a watershed year. From movie director Mel Brooks came not one but two films destined for classic status: “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.”
More recently, Brooks converted two of his movies to Broadway musicals. For “Young Frankenstein: The Mel Brooks Musical,” Brooks wrote the music, lyrics and, with Thomas Meehan, the show’s book.
The musical spent over a year on Broadway, followed by national tours and a London remount.
The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem will bring the singing, dancing and comical “drama” of Brooks’ invention to the Dunn Auditorium at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, starting Friday night.
“Young Frankenstein” follows the American grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, who created a monster from dead body parts in his Transylvania castle.
Frederick, the grandson (played by Lane Fields), is pursuing a career as a scientist — until he inherits the creepy castle and must visit it. He leaves behind his fiancée, Elizabeth (Amber Engel), and encounters an eccentric group of “assistants” at the castle: the hunchback Igor (Seph Schonekas), the flirtatious lab assistant Inga (Kayla Guffey), and the housekeeper Frau Blücher (Katie Jo Icenhower).
When he finds his grandfather’s research and the old laboratory, he abandons reason and becomes the mad scientist he was meant to be.
The cast includes Mike Burke, Matthew Cravey, Troy Hurst, Jim McKeny and Jeffrey Payton. The ensemble is made up of Roberts Bass, Shelly Beard, Elissa Brannan, McAyla Butler, James Crowe, Kaelyn Fansler, Charity Hampton, Isaac Hampton, Angela Hodges, Matthew Monroe and Tenesia Turner.
Philip Powell is in charge of putting all this energy and classic comic lines on the stage, with the aid of music director Dan Dodson and choreographer Becky Koza.
“It’s fun to take on this show that I was totally unfamiliar with, because I didn’t know the music,” Powell said. “It’s faithful to all the madcap comedy that’s in the original. To see all that played out on stage is fantastic and fun.”
Powell finds that it reminds him of “Rocky Horror,” which was both a movie and a stage play as well.
“I think there’s at least a 50 percent chance,” as with “Rocky Horror,” that “the audience will be mouthing the lines before the actors get done with them,” he said.
One aspect that differentiates the musical from the movie, Powell noted, is that there are multiple big dance numbers. “We’re bringing a lot of production values to it.”
Lane Fields, Little Theatre’s executive director, added that “audiences are in for a real treat with the choreography. It’s just so energetic and fun.” “I think ‘Young Frankenstein’ might have been the first Mel Brooks movie I saw, and that was when I fell in love with Mel Brooks,” Fields said about his role as Frederick. “It’s such a great character, and of course, it’s Gene Wilder,” he said. “Any time you can step into his shoes, it’s incredibly daunting, but also a lot of fun, because he leaves you so much”
Schonekas is taking on another indelible character in the not-always-useful Igor, played in the movie by Marty Feldman. that’s weird is that I’m a 6-foot-3 Igor. I don’t think that’s entirely best suited to the character.”
But bringing in the laughs remains the top priority. “It’s fun because everything I get to do in this show is just to make people have a good time,” Schonekas said.
Guffey, as Inga, said, “I come from a place where I really like to feel out the character and dig for myself before watching how others might have played her. Things such as how sentimental is she, how much does she just like attention, how does she feel about each person in this story.”
Eventually, part of the cast watched the film, with Teri Garr in the Inga role. “I think I just found that I already had some similar tendencies to what I saw in the movie,” Guffey said.
“Our challenge with this show,” Fields said, “is staying truthful to the movie and its well-known lines,” while also accommodating the song and dance additions.
Fields has no worries, though.
“What I have found the case to be ever since I moved here,” he said, “is how hard casts work in this town, how they will give everything to make sure that the production comes off. This cast is no exception. They raise the bar for everybody. It is a great ensemble.”
The musical spent over a year on Broadway, followed by national tours and a London remount.
The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem will bring the singing, dancing and comical “drama” of Brooks’ invention to the Dunn Auditorium at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, starting Friday night.
“Young Frankenstein” follows the American grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, who created a monster from dead body parts in his Transylvania castle.
Frederick, the grandson (played by Lane Fields), is pursuing a career as a scientist — until he inherits the creepy castle and must visit it. He leaves behind his fiancée, Elizabeth (Amber Engel), and encounters an eccentric group of “assistants” at the castle: the hunchback Igor (Seph Schonekas), the flirtatious lab assistant Inga (Kayla Guffey), and the housekeeper Frau Blücher (Katie Jo Icenhower).
When he finds his grandfather’s research and the old laboratory, he abandons reason and becomes the mad scientist he was meant to be.
The cast includes Mike Burke, Matthew Cravey, Troy Hurst, Jim McKeny and Jeffrey Payton. The ensemble is made up of Roberts Bass, Shelly Beard, Elissa Brannan, McAyla Butler, James Crowe, Kaelyn Fansler, Charity Hampton, Isaac Hampton, Angela Hodges, Matthew Monroe and Tenesia Turner.
Philip Powell is in charge of putting all this energy and classic comic lines on the stage, with the aid of music director Dan Dodson and choreographer Becky Koza.
“It’s fun to take on this show that I was totally unfamiliar with, because I didn’t know the music,” Powell said. “It’s faithful to all the madcap comedy that’s in the original. To see all that played out on stage is fantastic and fun.”
Powell finds that it reminds him of “Rocky Horror,” which was both a movie and a stage play as well.
“I think there’s at least a 50 percent chance,” as with “Rocky Horror,” that “the audience will be mouthing the lines before the actors get done with them,” he said.
One aspect that differentiates the musical from the movie, Powell noted, is that there are multiple big dance numbers. “We’re bringing a lot of production values to it.”
Lane Fields, Little Theatre’s executive director, added that “audiences are in for a real treat with the choreography. It’s just so energetic and fun.” “I think ‘Young Frankenstein’ might have been the first Mel Brooks movie I saw, and that was when I fell in love with Mel Brooks,” Fields said about his role as Frederick. “It’s such a great character, and of course, it’s Gene Wilder,” he said. “Any time you can step into his shoes, it’s incredibly daunting, but also a lot of fun, because he leaves you so much”
Schonekas is taking on another indelible character in the not-always-useful Igor, played in the movie by Marty Feldman. that’s weird is that I’m a 6-foot-3 Igor. I don’t think that’s entirely best suited to the character.”
But bringing in the laughs remains the top priority. “It’s fun because everything I get to do in this show is just to make people have a good time,” Schonekas said.
Guffey, as Inga, said, “I come from a place where I really like to feel out the character and dig for myself before watching how others might have played her. Things such as how sentimental is she, how much does she just like attention, how does she feel about each person in this story.”
Eventually, part of the cast watched the film, with Teri Garr in the Inga role. “I think I just found that I already had some similar tendencies to what I saw in the movie,” Guffey said.
“Our challenge with this show,” Fields said, “is staying truthful to the movie and its well-known lines,” while also accommodating the song and dance additions.
Fields has no worries, though.
“What I have found the case to be ever since I moved here,” he said, “is how hard casts work in this town, how they will give everything to make sure that the production comes off. This cast is no exception. They raise the bar for everybody. It is a great ensemble.”
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